Paul Cadmus: Male Nudity

Paul Cadmus, one of the most accomplished artists of the twentieth century, is best known for his provocative satires of American life. In 1934, his bawdy painting The Fleet's In! was barred from a Public Works of Art exhibition in Washington, D.C., gaining him national recognition. For over six decades, Cadmus devoted himself to Renaissance-era traditions of figurative realism as a meticulous craftsman. Unfortunately, his drawings of the male nude, which were at the heart of his work, were often overlooked.

For the first time in one volume, seventy of Cadmus's most stunning tributes to the male form are presented. These drawings were produced by Cadmus up until his death at age ninety-four and include previously unseen works. His most frequent model was his lifelong partner, Jon Anderson, and these drawings not only exhibit elegant fluency and technical virtuosity but also a tender emotional resonance. Respected critic and writer Justin Spring provides an illustrated essay introducing each era of the artist's career, placing Cadmus in the context of the rich history of the male nude.

Paul Cadmus, through his masterful rendering, poignantly, eloquently, and humbly reminds us of the sincere beauty of the male form and humanity itself. As Guy Davenport wrote in The Drawings of Paul Cadmus, "His drawings of male nudes are of bodies, but of achieved, perfected bodies that serve as symbols, as in ancient Greece, of a perfect unity of spirit and flesh, mind and body. For Cadmus, the body is the person."

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